MK4 R32 or MK7 Jetta

I'm finally taking the plunge and financing a car for the first time in my life. My terrible fear of commitment has kept me from buying anything that costs more than $1K. Now that I'm done with college and my student debt is all paid up I have the extra income to buy something nice. But I'm torn between these two options.

Which would you buy and why?? I'm looking for practical advice such as cost of ownership, resale value, availability of parts and service; as well as an enthusiast point of view such as tuning, coolness factor and worth owning factor.

I've driven nothing but beaters for years now. I wan't something nice and I'm not afraid of financing it. I have no wife, no kids and no debt so driving something that puts a smile on my face is worth the money.

Don't listen to these monkeys. The Jetta is a pretty decent car. I drove a TDI and thought it was a much nicer drive then my old MKIV TDI Jetta. Who cares about soft touch? I seriously can't remember the last time I squeezed my dash in the Audi to see how squishy it is.

Don't listen to these monkeys. The Jetta is a pretty decent car. I drove a TDI and thought it was a much nicer drive then my old MKIV TDI Jetta. Who cares about soft touch? I seriously can't remember the last time I squeezed my dash in the Audi to see how squishy it is.

No one said anything about soft-touch, or ride compliance on a mk4 TDI...

Don't listen to these monkeys. The Jetta is a pretty decent car. I drove a TDI and thought it was a much nicer drive then my old MKIV TDI Jetta. Who cares about soft touch? I seriously can't remember the last time I squeezed my dash in the Audi to see how squishy it is.

I know!! I drove an Enterprise MK6 Jetta and the thing had enough balls to make you lean back on your seat when you punch the gas. Plus being a sedan it might be more useful later in life.

Do you own one? What's it like to own one? Do they break as much as any other VW or more?

When it comes to reliability, MKIV R32s are pretty much as good as it gets. They came at the end of the MKIV run, so all of the problems had been well sorted out. They have the 3.2 24v engine, so no worrying about coilpacks or timing belts like the 1.8t. If you don't go crazy with it (meaning keeping it N/A...no turbos or superchargers) it will return tons of mileage with absolutely no headaches, minus standard maintenance.

That said, it does require a bit more maintenance that a standard MKIV, with the haldex fluid needing to be changed every 20k miles or so. However if you can turn a wrench you can change the haldex fluid, not a bad job at al.

They're a blast to drive and not at all a headache to own. If you've never owned one I say why not? If I had the chance to own another at the right price I'd probably jump on it myself.

Well price is still an issue. If you really care about how reliable the car will be, and it seems like you do, you'll have to pay a bit extra than what you had stated to find an R in low mileage and good condition. At that point it will cost you very nearly as much as a MkVI Jetta. However the R32 will hold it's value better in a few years, some are still going for 20k these days.

Have a look at this thread. Not the same comparison but it will give you an idea of what it would be like to own a MkIV R vs a newer VW
If you want to blend in get the Jetta, if you want to be special get the R

FV-QR

If you're worried about repair costs and won't be working on the car yourself, do not get an R32. They're not cheap to maintain and at this point they're 8 years old. Things are going to break, and they don't get granny-driven.

I bought one with 74k miles and I wouldn't do it again unless I had a good stack of money saved up for repairs/maintenance. It's not like they're going to blow up and leave you on the side of the road, but they need A LOT of attention. I'd get a newer car and let the dealership worry about that attention.

I'm finally taking the plunge and financing a car for the first time in my life. My terrible fear of commitment has kept me from buying anything that costs more than $1K. Now that I'm done with college and my student debt is all paid up I have the extra income to buy something nice. But I'm torn between these two options.

Which would you buy and why?? I'm looking for practical advice such as cost of ownership, resale value, availability of parts and service; as well as an enthusiast point of view such as tuning, coolness factor and worth owning factor.

Thanks!

You are going to celebrate paying off your student debt by taking on more debt?

Except for being completely different than the other MKIV golfs tell me more about how they are the same.

Tell me how they are different? 4motion? Old news in Europe, had been around since the beginning of the mk4 run. 3.2 24v? Other than the bump in displacement, it's really the same design as the 2.8 24v (head flows better, but same basic design/components). O2M 6 speed? Again, had been around for a bit... They run the same Bosch ME7 ECU, the same Climatronic, the same radio, etc., etc., the brakes are improved but are still floating caliper, basic design fare. So tell me, what is so different than all the mk4s? They're different than what was sold here, but not really too different from ROW offerings.

I got a very nice R32 for about $15k just shy of a year ago. I was in a similar situation and I wanted a nice car to really drive the hell out of and enjoy. I have spent a few thousand over the past year in maintenance, tires, and a few problems (battery crapped out, CV boot ripped), but to me it has been worth all of it. I love driving it every day and I enjoy working on it.